Windhoek - Angolan Head of State João Lourenço on Saturday said he is convinced that the Namibian people will be able to transform the pain and sadness over the loss of their President into energy to dedicate themselves with vigor to building their nation.
João Lourenço said he hopes that Namibians will be able to dedicate themselves to building a strong, resilient and exemplary nation in terms of stability, security and peace that President Hage Geingob had in his project for the nation.
The Angolan President made the statement at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek at the state funeral ceremony of the former Namibian president Hage Geingob.
"It is my responsibility, as President of the Republic of Angola and acting President of Southern African Development Community (SADC), to pay tribute in this deeply sad ceremony, in which we say goodbye for eternity to our brother, friend, comrade and comrade-in-arms, President Hage Geingob," said João Lourenço.
According to the Angolan statesman, the late Namibian president was an indispensable figure in Africa's liberation process, an intrepid defender of freedom, democracy and the dignity of the African peoples and Namibia in particular, for which he dedicated a large part of his life.
"On behalf of the leaders and peoples of the SADC and our partners, I would like to say that the legacy left by our comrade, whom we are saying goodbye today, must be preserved and serve as a reference point for the people of Namibia", Lourenço said.
João Lourenço highlighted the active and driving role that Hage Geingob played as acting chairman of the SADC in 2018, during which he led the regional industrialization agenda.
According to the Angolan Head of State, Hage Gueingob promoted the development of regional infrastructure, youth empowerment and the sustainable development of the region, as part of the fulfillment of the objectives his presidency set out to achieve.
Lourenço highlighted the role the Namibian statesman played in the defense of peace, stability and security in the region, fundamental premises for the economic and social development of the sub-region.
"The achievements of President Hage Geingob are of such magnitude and breadth that we would not be able to describe in a few words the way in which he dedicated himself and gave himself to the cause of building progress and development for his nation, for southern Africa and for the African continent in general," Lourenço said.
João Lourenço added that Angola and Namibia have established unbreakable and lasting bonds of friendship, brotherhood and co-operation that made them proud.
For the Angolan Head of State, the pain of the Namibian people is also that of the Angolan people and, for this reason, Angola is there to share that pain and say that in difficult times like these, the Namibian people can always count on the solidarity of the Angolans.
President João Lourenço, on behalf of himself and the Angolan government and SADC, expressed his deepest condolences to the widow of the deceased, his children and the entire bereaved family, as well as to the people and government of Namibia.
João Lourenço was the first Head of the State present to intervene at the ceremony, followed by his counterpart from Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Germany, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ADR/VIC/MRA/AMP
